Monday, March 19, 2012

Bob Vander Plaats of the group The FAMiLY Leader was another person who made GLAAD's Commentator Accountability Project (CAP) and this video by Think Progress demonstrates why.

And it's a video coming just in time, too. According to Think Progress:

The FAMiLY Leader and its president, Bob Vander Plaats, intend to hold a rally in the Iowa state Capitol tomorrow pressuring the state legislature to take up an amendment to the Iowa constitution defining marriage solely as between a man and a woman. Along with other groups including CatholicVote.org and the National Organization for marriage, the Leader has been promoting the policy change since the Iowa Supreme Court declared in 2009 that a state law prohibiting same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. In conjunction with the rally, the groups expect to deliver a petition with over 20,000 signatures supporting the amendment. The involvement of Vander Plaats in the event is especially noteworthy, as his extremism in Iowa state politics has increasingly driven even fellow Republicans and social conservatives to distance themselves from him.

First, a little comedy for your Monday. I DO NOT condone doing this in front of Tony Perkins, Peter Sprigg, Brian Brown, or Peter LaBarbera (who will probably take pictures). However, in front of a wacky fundamentalist preacher seeking to disrupt college campuses, have at it:

On Sunday during an interview with TheChristian Post concerning the Tyler Clementi case, Family Research Council leader Tony Perkins made a comment which should lead many of us gay bloggers to scratch our heads with amazement:

"Some have even laid blame not on the actual bullies but on Christian churches and conservative politicians. It's wrong to politicize these tragedies. Instead, we should focus on preventing the bullying of young people – for their sexual orientation, appearance, religion, or any other reason."

Perkins was claiming that the lgbtq community would use the verdict of this case ( Former Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi was convicted Friday of anti-gay intimidation for using a webcam to spy on his gay roommate's love life. The roommate, 18-year-old Tyler Clementi, committed suicide after realizing that he had been watched) to supposedly push an alleged "gay agenda" (whatever that is).

But the irony with Perkins' statement about keeping gay students from being bullied is that FRC has never supported any anti-bullying programs geared to the gay youth

Instead, the organization nd Perkins have been extremely vocal and active in opposing anti-bullying programs which would include the lgbtq community.

In August of last year, Perkins made very negative comments about the "It Gets Better" campaign, a campaign in which gay leaders and allies of the lgbtq community created videos telling gay youth to not allow bullies to bring down their self esteem.

In the following letter, Perkins called the campaign "disgusting" and an attempt to "recruit children into the gay lifestyle:"

• May God help us to not to "bully" anyone, but to graciously yet urgently speak the truth in love to young people who are hurting themselves with the "LGBT" lifestyle. May believers across America not be "bullied" by our government's efforts to promote harmful and sinful sexual practices among our youth and instead determine to stand courageously against these misguided efforts which can only lead to God's judgment!

The Family Research Council is a major propagator of the falsehood that bullying prevention initiatives are attempts by gay rights activists to “recruit” students, and lobbies states to pass laws curbing students from joining Gay-Straight Alliance clubs. Peter Sprigg, FRC’s senior fellow of public policy, authored a booklet on how the “pro-homosexual movement” is “indoctrinating impressionable school children” through safe schools initiatives and anti-discrimination rules. He regularly criticizes organizations like the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), which helps formulate safe schools programs, for allegedly trying to “promote a homosexual agenda in schools.”

So basically, Perkins' comments about protecting gay students has less to with actually protecting gay students, and more of a CYA statement (cover your ass) statement in the face of this awful situation.

But words don't mean anything. If Perkins is truly sincere about protecting gay youth from bullying then he and his organization should stop creating road blocks to this effort.

About Me

Alvin McEwen is 46-year-old African-American gay man who resides in Columbia, SC.
McEwen's blog, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, and writings have been mentioned by Americablog.com, Goodasyou.org, People for the American Way, PageOneQ.com, The Washington Post, Raw Story, The Advocate, Media Matters for America, Crooksandliars.com, Thinkprogress.org, Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish, Melissa Harris-Perry, The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, The Washington Blade, and Foxnews.com.
In addition, he is also a past contributor to Pam's House Blend,Justice For All, LGBTQ Nation, and Alternet.org. He is a present contributor to the Daily Kos and the Huffington Post,
He is the 2007 recipient of the Harriet Daniels Hancock Volunteer of the Year Award and the 2010 recipient of the Order of the Pink Palmetto from the SC Pride Movement as well as the 2009 recipient of the Audre Lorde/James Baldwin Civil Rights Activist Award from SC Black Pride. In addition, he is a three-time nominee of the Ed Madden Media Advocacy Award from SC Pride.